Posted by Randy Watts on November 07, 2000 at 09:51:00:
4. Your Fig 7 emphasizes the smallness of range of observed transport,
by comparing to the seasonal variation of Sverdrup wind-curl
transport. Note, however, that this treats the wind curl signal
AS IF the Pacific Ocean could instantaneously adjust to the Sverdrup wind
curl. The theory in Gill's text or in Anderson
and Gill's model in the Atlantic shows that the effect at the
western boundary current transport from a mid-ocean change in
wind-curl arrives at the WB by planetary waves -- i.e., delayed
by as much as several years.
Hence, a more "fair" comparison would be against the seasonal
variation of WBC transport in a model that has about the right
stratification (for good planetary wave speed) and basin size and
seasonal wind variations.